This invention relates to the general field of electrolysis and has particular, but not exclusive, application to the electrolysis of water to form hydrogen and oxygen.
In an electrolysis process a potential difference is applied between an anode and a cathode in contact with an electrolytic conductor to produce an electric current through the electrolytic conductor.
Many molten salts and hydroxides are electrolytic conductors but usually the conductor is a solution of a substance which dissociates in the solution to form ions. The term "electrolyte" will be used herein to refer to a substance which dissociates into ions, at least to some extent, when dissolved in a suitable solvent. The resulting solution will be referred to as an "electrolyte solution."
In a simple electrolysis porcess the mass of substance liberated at an anode or cathode is, in accordance with Faraday's laws of electrolysis, strictly proportional to the quantity of electricity passed between the anode and cathode. The rate of decomposition of the electrolyte is thus limited and it is generally uneconomical for example, to generate hydrogen and oxygen from water commercially by an electrolysis process.
IT IS KNOWN THAT COMPOUNDS, INCLUDING ELECTROLYTES SUCH AS WATER, CAN BE DECOMPOSED INTO THEIR CONSTITUENT ELEMENTS BY IRRADIATION WITH SHORT WAVE ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION. Such radiation induced dissociation or decomposition may be termed "radiolysis". For example, a paper by Dr. Akibumi Danno entitled "Producing Hydrogen with Nuclear Energy" published in the "Chemical Economy and Engineering Review" of June, 1974 describes in some detail the radiolysis of water and a number of hydrocarbons with an explanation of the elementary reactions involved in such radiolysis. Briefly, it is found that irradiation with short wave x-rays or gamma rays, i.e. electromagnetic radiation of wave length less than 10.sup.-10 meters, results in direct decomposition of the compounds concerned. For example, if water is irradiated with gamma radiation the water will be dissociated into hydrogen and oxygen. Danno proposes the use of a nuclear reactor as a source of radiation on a massive scale but concludes that water radiolysis is not a very efficient method of producing hydrogen and he proposes instead a process involving a radiolysis of carbon dioxide to produce carbon monoxide and oxygen and a subsequent conversion of the carbon monoxide to hydrogen gas by the conventional water/gas conversion process.